


Look Beneath the Surface

by ficdirectory



Category: The Fosters (TV 2013)
Genre: Gen, Protective Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-08
Updated: 2014-08-08
Packaged: 2020-01-01 02:05:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18326483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ficdirectory/pseuds/ficdirectory
Summary: Jesus is struggling in the aftermath of “Vigil.” Callie is an unexpected comfort. (Allusions to 1x09 "Vigil")





	Look Beneath the Surface

When Mama suggests they go on a picnic, Jesus isn’t on board. 

Oh, he nods and goes along, because after what happened at Ana’s, he promised himself that even if something sounded terrible to him, he’d go along with it. Especially since he kind of almost wrecked the whole family, and Mom got hurt basically because of him. Mostly, he’s just been keeping a really low profile. Hanging out in his room a lot. He had it all down to a system: eat, school, homework, chores, room, room, room, eat, family stuff, room… Well, you get the idea.

But on a picnic, there’s not really anyplace to go…so he pretty much knows it’s gonna suck. Brandon’s gonna keep hating him and Mariana secretly and Mom and Mama aren’t gonna know the first thing about it. ‘Cause even though Brandon apologized, Jesus can tell he’s being blamed. By Brandon, by Mariana, by Mama…probably by Mom, if she would ever admit to it. The only person not blaming him is Jude, and that’s only because Jude doesn’t know the whole story.

He’s tried to be really good to make up for it. But nothing can make up for it. So he guesses he’ll be, like, in their debt for the rest of his life. Going on a picnic isn’t that bad. He’ll deal. If it’ll make his parents happy.

Mariana and Callie are in the kitchen packing the picnic basket. (Seriously? He didn’t even know his moms had one of those.) Jude’s on Mom duty. Jesus is pretty sure they’re still playing video games on the couch. He doesn’t know where Mama and Brandon are, but it isn’t long before he hears both of them trying to get everybody out the door.

The ride’s weird. Everybody’s, like, on top of each other, practically, but really quiet. They haven’t spent a lot of time all together since…

When they get to the park, he and Jude are all over the unloading. Brandon’s still all about walking close to Mom to be sure she’s okay. Jesus looks away and grabs the picnic basket. Jude gets the honest-to-God red and white checkered tablecloth.

“I thought these things were just in stories…” Jude whispers, reading Jesus’s mind.

He shrugs. “Guess not. Let’s go find a spot.”

“Are we gonna eat on the ground?” Mariana asks warily. Jesus is kind of wondering the same thing.

“No. Go find a table,” Mama instructs.

When they do, Jesus kind of wishes they were eating on the grass, so they could spread out. This way, they’re all smashed together. There’s no avoiding each other. And everyone’s talking at the same time. And Mom’s right across from him, swatting bugs away from the food.

The basket looked bigger before. Now, with everybody taking stuff out, it doesn’t look that big anymore. He wishes he brought his board, but they were so crowded in the car there wouldn’t have been room.

God, he wishes he were in his room.

He gets up and starts walking.

“Hey, hey, hey! Where do you think you’re going?” Mom asks.

“I gotta stretch my legs!” he calls and keeps walking.

They can’t stop him.

Well, they could…but they shouldn’t. He really feels like a terrible son lately. Even though Mariana’s more obvious about her feelings, Jesus is feeling super guilty, too.

He’s lost in a whole mess of thoughts when Jesus feels someone walk up next to him. Callie.

Callie? Why is she here?

“What do you want?” he asks, arms crossed.

She says nothing, just offers him a paper plate with a sub sandwich, chips and potato salad.

“I’m good,” he says, waving it away. “Just…go put it back with the rest…in case somebody else wants seconds.”

She’s quiet for a while, and then offers, “There’s enough, you know? Mariana and I made sure.”

Silence. Jesus looks out at the scenery. Not at Callie.

“…So you don’t have to do this,” she insists softly.

“What am I doing?” he challenges, louder than he means to be.

“Taking care of us. The same way you used to take care of Mariana. …The same way I took care of Jude before we came here…”

“So what?”

She says nothing, just stares at him until he looks back. They lock eyes and the plate’s there. Jesus gets now that it won’t go away until he takes it. Callie’s not someone to mess with.

“Fine.” He gives in. Takes the plate and sits. Digs in because it’s been a really long time since breakfast and he just had cereal, because he slept too late to have any of the cooked stuff that was made earlier when it was fresh.

“Do you guys do this a lot?”

“No. It’s my first time,” he admits, because she might get it. Not like Brandon, who probably went on thousands, and knows that checkered table cloths exist in the real world, like picnic baskets.

“Mine, too,” she admits. “And Jude’s.”

“Weird, right?”

“I don’t really get the attraction of eating outside, when there are so many bugs.”

Jesus shrugs. “These bugs aren’t bad. Not when you’ve lived where we’ve lived…”

Callie wrinkles her nose. “I guess you’re right. So…do you, like, think we all hate you or something?”

He raises his eyebrows. “Don’t you?”

“No. Why would I?”

“I don’t know… Maybe 'cause of Ana’s boyfriend shooting Mom… You know she wouldn’t have been there if she wasn’t looking for me…”

Callie waits. She does that a lot. Like she’s thinking about what to say next. “Do you remember the night Jude came to live here?”

“Yeah, of course. It was like, 2 AM before you guys came back.”

“Well…I went to San Ysidro…to get him…and Brandon kind of insisted on coming. It took forever to get there…and when we did…when I went inside through the back door and my old foster dad saw… He pulled a gun on us.”

Jesus raises his eyebrows.

“Yeah. If your mom and Mike hadn’t come in when they did…I don’t know… But, you know, I felt so guilty that I put Jude’s life at risk…and Brandon’s…I thought for sure your moms would send me back to juvie.”

“But you didn’t pull a gun on them…” Jesus points out.

Now, it’s Callie’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “And you didn’t shoot Stef.”

Jesus blinks. He hasn’t thought about it that way before. But just like he would never blame Callie for what happened to her, Brandon and Jude, it’s kind of messed up that he’s blaming himself for what happened to Mom. He won’t be able to let go of it right away, probably. But the weight on his shoulders feels a little bit lighter.

Because he can’t think of what to say, he takes another bite of the sandwich so he’ll have a reason to say what he needs to. “This is an awesome sub. Thanks, Callie.”

“No problem,” she says, getting up and walking back toward the picnic table. Halfway there, she turns back and calls over her shoulder. “Are you coming, or what?”

“You’re super bossy, you know that?” he says, but he’s smiling. “Anybody ever tell you that?”

“Lots of people, actually.”

“Huh,” he smirks. “I’m not surprised.”

“Do you want dessert or not?” Callie challenges.

“Wait. Mariana didn’t say anything about dessert.”

Callie sends him a smile, as he sits down with the family again. “See what you would have missed out on if you hadn’t come back?”

And he does.

And it’s a lot more than peanut butter cookie dough brownies.


End file.
